No
salary freeze says Tsvangirai

PRIME
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was Saturday forced to make a public retraction
of recent statements by senior government officials that all salaries had
been frozen in a bid to contain growing unrest among workers who feel
neglected by the inclusive government.

Finance Minister Tendai Biti
last week said the government had frozen civil servants' salaries saying the
government wage bill was too big.This sparked a huge storm among workers'
representatives, who said the announcement was insensitive to their plight,
with many pushing for fresh elections fully supervised by local, regional
and international election observers.

Biti's announcement also
appeared to have widened the rift between the Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC) and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).

Last
week, ZCTU president Lovemore Matombo told a radio station that the MDC-T
had already "disengaged" from the ZCTU.

But yesterday they appeared
to have found each other again when the MDC-T stuck to its tradition of
joining the ZCTU in Workers' Day celebrations, and took part at the main
commemorations in Harare.

Tsvangirai and a number of senior MDC-T
officials attended the event.

Speaking at the workers event,
Tsvangirai assured workers that the salary freeze was not in line with
government policy adding the door was still open for
negotiations.

"The government did not announce a wage freeze," said
Tsvangirai.

"There is no government policy on wage freeze. If ever
there is going to be such a policy, it must also take into consideration the
price freeze."There is no government policy I know of on wage
freeze."

Tsvangirai said the government was "very serious" about
resolving the salary discrepancies in the public service and ensuring a
better quality of life for workers.

Matombo said if the
government did not urgently address the salaries issue, workers would take
to the streets.

"No one should freeze salaries," said Matombo. "If
you want to freeze salaries, why not go ahead and do it secretly with
employers, rather than to make a public announcement without even
negotiating because it shows total disrespect (for workers). We are not
afraid of anything. We are prepared to take into the
streets."

Matombo said the current salary scales in the country were
"much lower than those during Ian Smith's UDI (Unilateral Declaration of
Independence), 30 years after Independence."

ZCTU secretary
general Wellington Chibhebhe said the coming in of the inclusive government
had not brought about any meaningful changes for the
workers.

"The journey we have walked since May 1 last year is
like we are moving backwards.

"The explanation from the
government since 1980 is still the same, that there is no
money.

"This very worrying for us because there is money for
everything else except salaries of workers," said
Chibhebhe.

Representatives of various civil society organisations
also challenged the government to be more sensitive with the plight of
workers.

Meanwhile, three journalists from The Standard almost failed
to cover the ZCTU's May Day event in Dzivaresekwa after some overzealous
security personnel demanded press cards.

But even after
presenting the press cards the guards went on to deny them
entry.

More than a year into the life of the
inclusive government, yesterday's events also proved that there are still
wide divisions among workers along political lines, when some workers
boycotted the ZCTU event to attend a parallel programme organised by Joseph
Chinotimba's Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU).

A
handful of people attended the ZFTU-led celebrations at Gwanzura
stadium.

Alpha
Media excited about ZMC’s licence invitation

ALPHA Media Holdings (AMH), the publishers of the Zimbabwe
Independent and The Standard say the long wait for the group’s daily paper,
NewsDay may soon be over.

This follows an announcement by the
Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) that it would start receiving applications
from media houses seeking registration for new products on Tuesday. The
government on Friday gazetted registration fees for media houses and the
accreditation of journalists paving the way for the commission to begin its
work in earnest.

“It’s a major development,” said AMH CEO, Raphael
Khumalo (pictured) yesterday. “After having waited for two years to get a
license for NewsDay, it’s now a matter of time before we can get the
go-ahead to start publishing.”

Khumalo said the daily paper would
give a voice to people across the country who for a long time have been
denied access to alternative sources of information.

He said
NewsDay would also provide employment to hundreds of skilled people
prevented from realising their potential by the restrictive media
environment.

Government has set application fees for mass media
service at US$500 and registration fees at US$1 500. Publishers will pay
US$100 to renew licences.“The commission will start receiving applications
for renewal of registration certificates by mass media service providers and
renewal of accreditation status on Tuesday,” the ZMC said in a
statement.

“All new applications for both registrations of mass media
services and accreditation of journalists can be lodged with the commission
on the same date.”

Journalists and media houses have been given
up to June 4 to renew their licenses or lodge new
applications.

Those that have been publishing without licenses were
also given the same deadline to regularise their operations.

ZMC
commissioners were appointed in December to fulfil the Global Political
Agreement that led to the formation of the unity government in February last
year.

The new dispensation is likely to see the return of
newspapers such as The Daily News and Daily News on Sunday, which were
banned by government for operating without licences.

MDC
officials’ deaths expose poor disaster preparedness

THE death of former Gweru Rural Member of Parliament and Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) secretary for lands and agriculture, Renson
Gasela together with two other party officials in a horrific accident has
exposed glaring handicaps in the country’s police and fire services.Lack
of transport and fuel, poor communication and other infrastructure have
become a regular story even in matters that require urgent
interventions.All this played out on April 24 when Gasela and two other MDC
officials, Lyson Mlambo and Ntombizodwa Gumbo died in an accident.Their
bodies were stuck at the accident scene for many hours, only to be removed
in the early hours of the following day because the police had no transport
and the fire brigade had no fuel.Even the injured spent a few hours at the
scene before they were finally taken to the United Bulawayo
Hospital.After receiving a call that Gasela had died on the spot about 25km
from Zvishavane, Regional Integration and International Cooperation Minister
Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga immediately tried calling Zvishavane police
from Bulawayo, but failed to get through.“We finally managed to get a
mobile number for a police officer based in Zvishavane, who then confirmed
they had been informed of two accidents.“One was along Masvingo road and the
other was along Shurugwi road,” Misihairabwi-Mushonga said.While the
police were aware of the accident, Misihairabwi said they failed to react on
time because they had no transport to get to the scene.“They told us that
the only car they had at the station had gone with officers to the Masvingo
accident.“I immediately drove to Zvishavane with former Senator Rita Ndlovu.
I took the longer route, via Gweru and when I arrived, I found the police
had arrived at the scene about one and half hours after I spoke to them,”
she said.An even bigger nightmare awaited Misihairabwi-Mushonga,
Industry Minister Welshman Ncube and other officials who had rushed to the
scene.They just watched helplessly at the bodies, as they did not have the
means to get them out of the trap.Attempts to get the Fire Brigade to
intervene swiftly hit a brickwall as the fire fighters had no
fuel.“Ncube called the Fire Brigade in Gweru, but he was told they had no
fuel,” added Misihairabwi-Mushonga.“It was only after he offered to
organise fuel for them that they managed to get to the scene.“They only
arrived after I had already left the scene to rush to Bulawayo with the
injured, but I am told they were there in the early hours of the next
day.”Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena on Friday said inasmuch as the
police would want to respond swiftly to such situations, they were being
hindered by lack of resources.“That is what we have always been talking
about, that we do not have adequate resources,” said Bvudzijena.“We need
more resources in terms of transport, office equipment and other forensic
equipment that we need to discharge our duties.“The inclusive government
should provide sufficient resources to ensure that we discharge our duties
properly.”Bvudzijena said the police were still to finalise their
investigations on the fatal crash.

Defamation:
the new weapon against journalists

TOMORROW Zimbabweans join the rest of the world in commemorating
World Press Freedom Day, but despite the formation of the inclusive
government, media restrictions still abound.When the inclusive
government came into office last year, hopes were very high that the
inter-party government would free the working environment for the
media.Journalists and media rights campaigners believe that while amendments
to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the
Broadcasting Services Act (BSA), among others, were likely to bring a few
positive changes in the media industry, those bent on silencing dissent had
found a new weapon in defamation laws.This week, five journalists will
testify in a court case where businessman Philip Chiyangwa is suing eight
Harare councillors for criminal defamation following the publication of
details of a council report in The Standard and Sunday Times
newspapers.The five journalists - Vincent Kahiya, Nevanji Madanhire,
Jennifer Dube and Feluna Nleya, all from The Standard and Stanley Gama from
the Sunday Times of South Africa - are being accused of publishing stories
based on a City of Harare council report about Chiyangwa's land deals in the
capital.Zimbabwe Union of Journalists Secretary General, Foster Dongozi said
the case was "a spectacular own goal" by the inclusive government."It is
actually becoming a very dubious trend, because even last year around this
time we had colleagues (Kahiya and Constantine Chimakure) who were arrested
on charges related to criminal defamation," said Dongozi.Kahiya and
Chimakure, then Editor and News Editor of the Zimbabwe Independent
respectively, were arrested a few days after World Press Freedom Day last
year on charges of publishing falsehoods.Irene Petras, the director of the
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said recent cases of criminal defamation
involving some senior officials were a proof that there were still major
challenges facing journalists."Criminal defamation is not something we need
in our statutory books," said Petras. "People have enough remedies to
resolve these issues without instituting criminal charges."The Media
Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe chapter says defamation laws
"have the effect of not only silencing the media but also silencing society
which relies on the media to know and critique government
decisions"."The police have been more than ready to act on political
instructions arresting journalists on criminal defamation charges," said
MISA in a document on criminal defamation.Farai Nhende, a legal advisor
at MISA Zimbabwe said, "The major hazard with criminal defamation laws is
that in cases pertaining to the publication of allegations of corruption and
other criminal acts they may simply be invoked to put brakes on further
investigations or publication."Defamation criminalises the publication of
statements that may cause harm to an individual's name and good
standing.He said in most cases defamation laws force journalists to reveal
their sources, which "has a very chilling effect on investigative journalism
and amounts to an abuse of media freedom since the practice effectively
turns journalists into police informants".Defamation criminalises the
publication of statements that may cause harm to an individual's name and
good standing.

MDC-T
a junior partner in GNU — analysts

THE
recent controversial visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has
exposed MDC-T’s inability to influence the direction of the inclusive
government and reinforced perceptions that Morgan Tsvangirai is a lame duck
Prime Minister, analysts said last week.President Robert Mugabe
unilaterally invited the Iranian leader who is considered a despot by the
West to officially open the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in
Bulawayo sparking protests from his so-called equal political partners in
the government of national unity (GNU)Tsvangirai and ministers from MDC-T
snubbed Ahmadinejad describing his invitation as a “colossal” political
scandal and an insult to Zimbabweans.Undoubtedly the MDC-T’s presence in the
unity government has brought some semblance of economic and political
stability but Tsvangirai is clearly struggling to assert his authority as
Zanu PF hardliners continue to put spanners in the works.He is slowly
losing his political influence and has been shown little respect by
ministers he is supposed to supervise.Zanu PF has been making crucial
foreign, political and economic policies with a bearing on the country’s
future without consulting the two MDC formations.At every opportune
moment, Mugabe has deliberately undermined the PM and has on several
occasions wantonly violated the Global Political Agreement (GPA) with
impunity.Political analysts last week said Mugabe’s behaviour showed that
the MDC-T — though occupying “an important democratic space” in government
—was playing second fiddle to Zanu PF.Over a year after the formation of
the GNU, the police, army and secret intelligence service which are all
headed by Mugabe’s loyalists continue to act as if they are an extension of
Zanu PF.The selective application of the rule of law is still apparent
whenever MDC-T and Zanu PF supporters clash.Tsvangirai’s supporters
continue to be hounded out of their homes by Zanu PF activists in the rural
areas such as Muzarabani and Mutoko.Tsvangirai’s silence and inaction by
police — even though MDC-T co-chairs the Home Affairs ministry — is an
indication of lack of power not only by MDC-T minister Giles Mutsekwa but by
the party as a whole.Of late Mugabe has been gazetting laws that his party
passed during the sixth Parliament in 2007, when Zanu PF was still the
majority in the House.Among the laws are the controversial Indigenisation
and Economic Empowerment Act and the Petroleum Act, widely seen as designed
to keep the bankrupt liberation party financially afloat as the two laws
would benefit mostly Zanu PF loyalists.MDC-T spokesman and Information,
Communication and Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa is one of several
officials from the two MDC formations who are ministers onlyon paper after
Mugabe stripped them of powers. They donot administer any Acts.Apart
from mild protests, Tsvangirai appears hamstrung to stop an increasingly
intransigent Mugabe from eroding any of the little power he has as
PM.University of Zimbabwe (UZ) political science lecturer John Makumbe says
although the MDC-T occupies an important democratic space in government
Tsvangirai is playing second fiddle to Mugabe.“They are not by any
chance equal,” said Makumbe. “They (MDC) are playing second fiddle. The MDC
is saying the gazetting of the laws is illegal but they are failing to stop
them.”Makumbe said Tsvangirai also appeared to be failing to force Mugabe to
award his party an ambassadorial post in South Africa which would soon be
vacant after Simon Khaya Moyo was elected Zanu PF chairman.The three
parties in the GNU agreed that any vacancy that arises in the diplomatic
arena be given to the two MDC formations but Zanu PF seems determined to
keep the influential post under its wings.John Kanokanga, the chairman of
the Zimbabwe Movement for Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (Zimpru), a local
peace advocacy body, shares Makumbe’s sentiments.He said the MDC-T was
just “a lame duck” in the inclusive government as Zanu PF was still very
much in control.Kanokanga said suspicion between the two political
protagonists made it difficult for them to fully work together.“As
things stand now, Zanu PF is the ruling party,” said Kanokanga.“They are
running the show and MDC is just being by-passed on important
matters.”But Makumbe also gave the MDC-T a pat at the back for playing a
watchdog role in keeping corruption in check which he said had become
rampant in Mugabe’s party. Its presence, said Makumbe, forced Zanu PF into
agreeing to the writing up of a new democratic constitution.“Their
effectiveness is definitely limited,” said Makumbe. “But they are useful in
exposing Zanu PF’s misgovernance including corruption pertaining to Chiadzwa
diamonds.”Another political commentator Eldred Masunungure said the presence
of the MDC formations in government “has moderated extremist elements” in
Zanu PF.Both Zanu PF and MDC-T, he said, were not in total control of events
in government because of “the rule of anticipated reaction” which moderates
their political behaviour.“They (MDC-T) are playing a limited role but
(which is) crucial and critical,” said Masunungure who is also a political
science lecturer at the UZ.“Things could have been far worse than they
are without their presence.”There are a number of other crucial decisions
that Mugabe and Zanu PF have made without consulting their partners in the
coalition such as the continuing land seizures and the refusal to swear-in
Roy Bennett as deputy Agriculture minister.Mugabe has also refused to
address a host of other GPA outstanding issues such as his unilateral
appointments of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General
Johannes Tomana.Outwitted and disregarded by Mugabe, all that Tsvangirai has
done is make fruitless trips to South Africa to put pressure on the
mediator in the Zimbabwe crisis, South African President Jacob Zuma to reign
in Mugabe.

War
vets clamouring for more and more

A
militant Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association (ZNLWVA)
splinter group, which two years ago urged President Robert Mugabe not to
accept defeat in elections is now demanding 20% of all acquired land and a
slice of the economy as compensation for participating in the war of
liberation. The faction, led by Retired Colonel Basten Beta says it wants
more control over land, mines and the economy in general because it feels
the compensation given to war veterans in 1997 was not enough.Beta told
Mugabe soon after he lost the first round of the presidential poll in March
2008 to MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai that he must not to lose "what we got
through the bullet through the ballot".By coincidence or design, Zanu PF
immediately embarked on an orgy of political violence that forced Tsvangirai
to pull out of the run-off election three months later.The MDC-T says at
least 200 of its supporters were murdered by suspected Zanu PF activists and
State security agents in a bid to keep the 86-year-old leader in
power.Thousands of people were displaced, others were maimed while many
women were raped as Zanu PF militia went on a rampage.But Beta still
stands by his advice to Mugabe."I still stand by what I said," said Beta.
"My political ideology is that we were fighting for 100% political power and
we must not allow opportunists to rule this country and reverse the gains of
the liberation struggle."Asked if he feels bad about the killings, he
quipped, "I can't feel sorry for people who killed each other for no
apparent reason, just for greediness. I should feel sorry for those killed
during the liberation war."The ZNLWVA has been divided into three factions
led by Beta, Jabulani Sibanda and Joseph Chinotimba.Mugabe is the patron
of the war veterans and has battled to stay neutral in the battle for the
association.Two years after he made the inflammatory statements, Beta is now
demanding a stake in land and the economy, alleging former freedom fighters
have been neglected for a long time."As war veterans we want to be
assisted to get land and finance so that we can participate in the
mainstream economy."We will soon approach government," said Beta, who could
not say what they would do if government rejected the demands.He also
backtracked on earlier reports that his faction would approach Britain for
compensation saying they would only push the government to assist
them.Beta wants the "return of decency" for war veterans, spouses and their
children through benefiting from government's empowerment laws."Most war
veterans don't have farms but they were used to invade farms by
politicians," he said."Government is talking about empowerment laws and
we are not being consulted. Some war veterans are dying and being buried
without any government assistance."Although war veterans spearheaded the
chaotic land invasions few of them benefited, he said.Mugabe's cronies
in the civil service, army, police and secret service grabbed the most
fertile land.For the past few weeks Beta's faction, which appears to be
well-funded, has been splashing full page adverts in the press highlighting
the plight of war veterans.One of the adverts titled Heal Our Wounds
Campaign, which claims over 27 000 freedom fighters were killed during the
liberation war, betrays Beta's hunger for monetary compensation."The
Mau-Mau in Kenya was compensated why not Zanla and Zipra?"Your children,
brothers and sisters did not die in vain, the war veterans' leadership needs
your help to honour them for we knew them by their Chimurenga names," reads
the advert.But the Mau Mau fighters were never compensated by the British
administration as claimed by the faction.They are suing for compensation
but Britain is arguing that liabilities of the Kenyan colonial
administration were passed on to the government that succeeded it.Beta
said Z$50 000 lump sum compensation that war veterans got from government in
1997 was peanuts that could not sustain their whole lives. War veterans also
continue to receive pensions from government.Chinotimba's faction says it
wants the monthly pensions increased from US$50 to US$600, an amount which
will make gainfully employed civil servants green with envy."What does
one do with US$50 per month? For a person who sacrificed his or her life to
be treated in this manner is a shame," said Chinotimba.On average, civil
servants are earning US$200 a month.Beta said except for the late Chenjerai
Hunzvi, the war veterans have been led by "gullible and usable people" who
never participated in the war of liberation.He accused Sibanda of
flouting the war veterans' constitution by failing to hold congresses during
the time he has been in office."We are supposed to hold congresses after
every three years but Sibanda has refused to do so," said Beta. "This guy
has been in office for the past three years without our mandate".He said
the chairmanship should be rotated between Zanla and Zipra but "ari kutiza
nepoto (But Sibanda is refusing to hand over the baton)"."It is not written
down but it is known that the chairmanship is rotational and now it's
Zanla's turn," said Beta, adding that he was organising war veterans across
the country in preparation for a congress.Sibanda could not be reached for
comment last week.In December last year, Army General Constantine Chiwenga
reportedly summoned the factions to his office and ordered them to put a
planned congress on hold.Sources say Zanu PF was concerned about the
likely "domino effect" an acrimonious congress would have on the party's
congress held around the same time.

Zimbabwe
gunner shining in Britain

REGARDLESS of
what country NATO Training Mission Afghanistan members represent, returning
home from their deployment here often means taking some much needed time off
to get some rest and spend quality time with the family.However, for
Gunner Kuziva Dapira, a British soldier currently assigned to the Camp Alamo
UK Leadership Training Team, time off and rest is not what's on his agenda
after reaching the end of his tour in April.Dapira is a member of the United
Kingdom's King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, also known as The Troop, and
within a month of his returning to London, his unit will be participating in
one of Britain's biggest events - Queen Elizabeth's official birthday
celebration also known as Trooping the Colour.The Troop is an elite unit
of about 100 soldiers, all of whom superb equestrians trained to drive a
team of six horses that pull the "thirteen pounder" state saluting gun.
Their duties include the firing of royal salutes on royal anniversaries and
state occasions, and providing a gun carriage and team of black horses for
state and military funerals.But out of all the ceremonies the unit
participates in, Trooping the Colour is the highest honor, according to
Dapira."Riding in the Queen's Parade means a lot to the King's Troop," he
said. "It's our bread and butter. It's like playing in the World-Cup
finals." He added that out of approximately 100 members of his unit, only 48
actually ride in the parade and that to him it is a high honour to be one of
those selected.Dapira, a Zimbabwe native, has been in Britain for six years
and joined the Army three years ago. His duties at the KMTC include
providing logistical support to his fellow British soldiers and to train
Afghan noncommissioned officers.Training NCOs for the Afghan National
Army is very rewarding because it helps create more leaders for Afghanistan,
he said."Other high-points of this deployment have been working with
multi-national forces and also different regiments," he said. "And learning
languages, I've learned a little bit of Dari and a little bit of
French."This will be the second time Dapira rides in the Queen's Birthday
Parade, and he feels confident that regardless of the short time given for
him to prepare, he will be ready by June."It won't be hard readjusting
to being back on parade because it's something I have done before," he said.
"While it's a big change to go from being in a war zone to going back to
being in front of a crowd, I'm a professional soldier and I'm trained to
adapt to any circumstance."- mtnTrooping The Color celebrates the queen's
official birthday and is always held the second or third Saturday of June.
Her actual birthday is on April 21, but the ceremony is held in June to in
the hope for good weather. The ceremony itself dates back to at least the
early 18th century when the flags of the battalion, also referred to as
colors, were carried or 'trooped' down the ranks so that they could be seen
and recognized by the soldiers. The Queen attends in a horse-drawn carriage
and the regiments of the Household Division, her personal troops, parade in
front of her. More than 1,400 soldiers are on parade, plus 200 horses and
more than 400 musicians.

Dapira is a member of the United Kingdom's
King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, also known as The Troop, and within a
month of his returning to London, his unit will be participating in one of
Britain's biggest events - Queen Elizabeth's official birthday celebration
also known as Trooping the Color.The Troop is an elite unit of about 100
soldiers, all of whom superb equestrians trained to drive a team of six
horses that pull the 'thirteen pounder' state saluting gun. Their duties
include the firing of royal salutes on royal anniversaries and state
occasions, and providing a gun carriage and team of black horses for state
and military funerals.But out of all the ceremonies the unit participates
in, Trooping the Color is the highest honor, according to Dapira."Riding
in the Queen's Parade means a lot to the King's Troop," he said. "It's our
bread and butter. It's like playing in the world-cup finals." He added that
out of approximately 100 members of his unit, only 48 actually ride in the
parade and that to him it is a high honor to be one of those
selected.Dapira, a Zimbabwe native, has been in Britain for six years and
joined the Army three years ago. His duties at the KMTC include providing
logistical support to his fellow British soldiers and to train Afghan
noncommissioned officers.Training NCOs for the Afghan National Army is
very rewarding because it helps help create more leaders for Afghanistan, he
said."Other high-points of this deployment have been working with
multi-national forces and also different regiments," he said. "And learning
languages, I've learned a little bit of Dari and a little bit of
French."This will be the second time Dapira rides in the Queen's Birthday
Parade, and he feels confident that regardless of the short time given for
him to prepare, he will be ready by June."It won't be hard readjusting
to being back on parade because it's something I have done before," he said.
"While it's a big change to go from being in a war zone to going back to
being in front of a crowd, I'm a professional soldier and I'm trained to
adapt to any circumstance."Trooping The Color celebrates the queen's
official birthday and is always held the second or third Saturday of June.
Her actual birthday is on April 21, but the ceremony is held in June to in
the hope for good weather. The ceremony itself dates back to at least the
early 18th century when the flags of the battalion, also referred to as
colors, were carried or 'trooped' down the ranks so that they could be seen
and recognized by the soldiers. The Queen attends in a horse-drawn carriage
and the regiments of the Household Division, her personal troops, parade in
front of her. More than 1,400 soldiers are on parade, plus 200 horses and
more than 400 musicians. SOURCE: mtn

Churches
pray in unison against Anglican divisions

CHURCH organisations from different denominations have joined
forces to support the Anglican Church faction led by Bishop Chad Gandiya in
its battle to regain access to premises that have been at the centre of a
three-year-old dispute. Zanu PF sympathiser and ex-communicated Anglican
Bishop Nolbert Kunonga has successfully used his connections in the party
and the police to lock out the majority of the church's followers from
dioceses in Harare.But representatives of the Zimbabwe National Pastors
Conference, Christian Alliance and Ecumenical Support Services who met
recently in Harare endorsed a multi-pronged strategy to help Gandiya's
group, in a move that might mark a new twist to the conflict."What is
happening at the Anglican Church is an old tactic of the devil who is a
divider of the people," Bishop Ancelimo Magaya of the Grace Ablaze
Ministries International said after the meeting."We need to identify
with our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Church."If we do not do that,
we will be sinning and if we take time to do it, the evil that is happening
in the Anglican Church will come to us."Magaya said Christians must look at
similar divisions in trade, students' and lawyers' unions among other
sectors to understand the severity of the Anglican saga."For us here in
Harare, when some of these things happened to the people of Matabeleland, we
bought the dissidents story and ignored those people's suffering," Magaya
said."Then came the killing of people with the formation of the MDC and we
sat back and said it's politics."The divisions continued with the farm
seizures and we said it was for the whites."It came again with the
destruction of people's houses in 2005 and those in Borrowdale said it was
for those in the ghetto."It swept through the business sector with the price
slashes, continued with the 2008 violence and now, banks and so many other
companies are at risk because of yet another divisive piece of
legislation."We as the church should refuse to bow to this wave of
divisiveness."Among other things, the organisations will urge Christians to
make "direct" prayers which mention names of the people deemed responsible
for the Anglican saga including Kunonga, the police, the
commissioner-general of police Augustine Chihuri and President Robert
Mugabe.Churches will also be urged to publicly condemn the divisions at the
Anglican Church through the media and peaceful marches.They will also
petition the three parties in the unity government protesting against the
Organ on National Healing and Reconciliation's failure to find a solution to
the saga.Also to be petitioned are regional and international Christian
bodies and if possible, the mediator of the Zimbabwe talks, South African
President Jacob Zuma.Two factions have emerged in the Anglican Church
following Kunonga's 2007 failed attempt to withdraw the Harare Diocese from
the mother body, the Church of the Province of Central Africa
(CPCA).Gandiya told the meeting that Kunonga and his people had allegedly
used the police to terrorise CPCA members.He said CPCA members engaged
in running battles with the police every Sunday, even if they worshipped
from alternative places since Kunonga and his people barred them from
entering the church premises despite numerous court orders that the two
groups must share the premises.He said his group was also not happy that
Kunonga gets proceeds from the church's buildings that are being rented out
as well as levies from its schools.Kunonga's spokesperson Reverend
Admire Chisango said he could not comment much on the issue as it was before
the Organ on National Healing and Reconciliation."It will not be prudent
for me to say much on this issue before the Organ concludes its
intervention," he said."But all I can say regarding sharing of properties is
that currently we are at a stage called the status quo," he said."We are
at a stage we were at before September 21 2007 where we had one Bishop,
Bishop Kunonga, one diocese, one authority and one throne."Never in any
diocese of the Anglican will you find two bishops, the throne is never
shared."Chisango said he would need to verify issues about the number and
type of buildings the church owns but refuted claims that his faction was
enjoying all proceeds from these.He said he was confident the national
healing organ could resolve the Anglican saga, adding that "Bishop Kunonga
long ago extended his hand to the other group when he was made custodian of
the church's properties."

Ministry
seeks mandatory immunisation law

GOVERNMENT has laid the blame on members of the apostolic faith
sects for the unrelenting measles outbreak that has killed more than 183
children since it was first detected in September last year. Some sects bar
their members from seeking medical attention for religious reasons.A
team of government experts who gave oral evidence during hearings by the
Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Welfare on Tuesday
recommended that the immunisation of children against killer diseases such
as measles must be mandatory.Portia Manangazira, the head of
Epidemiology and Disease Control in the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare
said the measles outbreak had mainly affected children whose parents were
members of the sects because they were not immunised.The outbreak has
been detected in at least 52 out of the 59 districts and 99% of the deaths
occurred outside community centres.Manicaland, Mashonaland East and Harare
provinces have been the hardest hit."Other countries in the region have made
child immunisation mandatory but when you look at Zimbabwe there is no such
legal framework to allow for this," Manangazira said."I urge you
Honourable Members of Parliament to look into this issue seriously because
without any binding law we will not be able to reach these members of the
apostolic faith sects and we will continue losing lives to a very easily
preventable and curable disease."Despite losing so many children members
continue to shun seeking treatment for their children."She said
Zimbabwe's immunisation rates were also low at 80%. The recommended rate is
90% and above, Manangazira said.Vaccination rates began falling in 1996 in
one of the earliest signs of a weakening health delivery
system.Government was also urged to strengthen its routine immunisation
campaigns to fight diseases such as measles.As part of efforts to fight
the current outbreak, the Ministry of Health and its partners will conduct a
door-to-door immunisation programme countrywide between May 10 and the end
of next month.Manangazira said they would need the support of MPs to reach
out to religious sects that continue to shun modern medicine.Kwekwe
Central MP, Blessing Chebundo said it was the duty of government to
guarantee the wellbeing of children."We must stop the further loss of
lives as a government," he said after the experts gave evidence."We
should not allow the further loss lives of children on the basis of
religion."Editor Matamisa, the MP for Kadoma urged the government to
ensure that vaccines used during immunisation met the standards to prevent
cases of children dying after vaccination.She said the ministry also
failed to communicate properly last year after children died following
another immunisation campaign.The government says its investigations
revealed that the deaths were not related to the vaccinations.

Cancer
Centre gets boost for palliative care

BELINDA Muchenje Makowa remembers the trauma her family went
through when her mother was diagnosed with cancer of the bone marrow two
years ago. All her life Makowa says their late mother Grace Ngoni Muchenje
was a pillar of strength and she had never imagined losing her."I was
the one driving her on that day when she received the news that she has
cancer," she recalled last week."We were all there together with my other
sisters."This was the first time we ever had cancer in the family and I was
very worried about my mother's health especially knowing that cancer has no
cure."But Makowa's says the way her mother came to terms with her
condition quickly calmed the family's fears."My mother was a very strong
person who took everything in her stride and she often comforted us telling
us this was God's way for her."She was diagnosed around February 2008 and by
May that same year she told us she already knew that she was going to
die."She had embraced her fate by that time and she had begun planning for
her funeral."She knew what songs she wanted us to sing at her funeral. .
.what passages of scripture she wanted the pastor to read."She also
wrote her own will, wrote letters of wishes."She was prepared for her death.
She said her goodbyes and when her time to go came she went peacefully in
October."Although the family went through immense pain during the illness
and subsequent death, Makowa said the experience had taught them valuable
lessons about people who help others cope with difficult conditions in
life.Last week Makowa and her other family members donated equipment and
literature worth US$3 000 to the Cancer Association of Zimbabwe to assist
with therapy and education for cancer patients and their families.The
material was bought with the prize money Juliet Makowa (Belinda's sister)
won when she took part in the New York Marathon in November last
year.Their sister-in-law Yvette said Muchenje benefited immensely from
the Cancer Association which offers free care to patients.Yvette said
the family had found it befitting to give back to other cancer patients who
also require the services of the organisation."The Cancer Centre does
tremendous work for cancer patients and we are hoping that through this
donation other people can benefit as well," she said."Our mother was a
very generous person and I am sure she is proud of us today as we give this
donation."Cancer Association deputy manager and education officer Shingirayi
Dakwa welcomed the contribution saying her organisation depended on such
generosity to survive."Our organisation is a non-profit organisation
that offers counselling services, radiotherapy for people with cancer so we
do our best to assist those with cancer and their families through their
illness," Dakwa said.Cancer treatment in Zimbabwe is very expensive but the
association offers it for free.

Operation
of Hope giving back smiles

NYETERAI
Sikuveka from rural Sanyati says the first time she laid her eyes on her
newly born baby she was struck by fear.

Wiseman was born with a mouth
deformity that even baffled the nurses that helped Sikuveka deliver."The
nurses were shocked and they began speaking in hushed tones," she said last
week. "At first they didn't want to show me the child until I insisted I
wanted to see him for myself."I had never seen anything like that, I thought
someone had bewitched my son."Sikuveka's son, now eight, had a condition
known as cleft lip.It is a treatable birth defect that occurs when the
tissues of the upper jaw and nose do not join as expected during foetal
development, resulting in a split lip.Because of lack of access to
health services and ignorance by the majority of Zimbabweans, many children
grow up with the condition, which has a lot of stigma attached to
it.Luckily for Sikuveka, Wiseman was among the 70 plus children who were
selected to receive free corrective surgery from a group of American
surgeons through an organisation known as Operation of Hope.Founded by
US-based surgeon, Joseph Clawson, Operation of Hope has been doing similar
operations on children from across the world since 1989.Clawson himself has
performed more than 2 500 free surgeries.The surgeons have been visiting
Zimbabwe since October last year to perform corrective surgeries for
children and even adults with mostly mouth deformities known as cleft lip
and cleft palate.At least 500 children have benefited from the
operations."I heard the news about these doctors from Save the Children,"
Sikuveka said."When they told me that there are some people from America
who can fix my son's mouth I just couldn't believe it."She had watched
Wiseman being teased by her peers and the operation last week ended her
eight year-long nightmare."I am relieved that he can now play with the other
children and not be teased, he is now almost normal like them," the elated
mother said after the operation."This is a miracle I thought I would
never see it in my life. I cannot wait to get back to the village and for
his brothers and sisters to see him."Jennifer Trubenbach who was leading the
Operation of Hope team said the cleft lip surgery was important because it
allowed affected children to lead normal lives again."In some cases we
have heard mothers have been accused of cutting their children's lips
because people don't understand that it's a genetic thing just like someone
has brown eyes and another has blue eyes," she said."It is the way you were
born, it is not the fault of the mother or the father."Trubenbach said
for the cleft palate, it was important for the surgery to be done before the
child began to speak so that speech development is not affected.A cleft
lip and palate surgery is estimated to cost around US$1 500, an amount
beyond the reach of many ordinary Zimbabweans.

Obituary:
Gasela’s unfulfilled dream

IN one of his
many articles about the country’s collapsed agricultural sector, the late
former Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) legislator for Gweru Rural,
Renson Gasela wrote: “One thing that the government has been consistent on
has been the annual failure to ensure farmers have inputs in
time.”

In this January 20 2010, article titled: “How to get
agriculture on its feet”, Gasela – who served as secretary for agriculture
in the MDC before and after the 2005 split – stressed the need for proper
planning by the government as the only way out of perennial crop
failures.

“It would appear to me that as for failure to plan
for each agricultural season over the past 10 years or so, is concerned; it
is like an eroded field which needs to be repaired by providing the
necessary contours…“What I recommend to government is that there be a
continuous two-year plan for agriculture,” wrote Gasela.

At the
end of his article, he warned: “If we do not do something along these lines,
we will, as a country, continue to fail to plan for our food.”

This
was among Gasela’s very last articles, focusing on, as usual, his favourite
subject of agriculture.He died in a car crash near Zvishavane in the
Midlands on April 24, alongside two other officials from the MDC formation
led by Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara.

He will be buried
in Gweru today.

While in his articles Gasela complained that the
government had been consistent in failing to plan, he also made consistent
recommendations for the government to prioritise agriculture
reforms.

The recommendations fell on deaf ears.

When many
were still basking in the excitement that followed the signing of the global
political agreement (GPA) two years ago, Gasela challenged the parties to
expedite the implementation of the agreement to allow farmers to plant on
time.

At the time, there were numerous media reports about the
importation of maize from neighbouring countries.

But in an
article on October 9 2008, Gasela said instead of celebrating maize that had
not even been delivered, the government should “bring maize, make it
available everywhere and then go on television”.

“Very few people eat
any maize from their television screens,” he wrote.

Sharing the same
name with one of Gasela’s aides, on a number of occasions he made a mistake
and dialled my number instead of Vusa his aide.

In all those “lost”
calls, the sense of urgency to get things done on the farm was
evident.

Those calls also revealed to me, as one of his colleagues
put it, “the epitome of humility” that Gasela was.

According to
Regional Integration and International Cooperation Minister Priscilla
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, Gasela had an unmatched love for
agriculture.

During his days as a parliamentarian, he spent most of
his time at the grassroots with other farmers, something that enabled him to
always resonate with the daily struggles of Zimbabwe’s small-scale
farmers.

“Ga’s passion was in land, its use and its produce, he
symbolised everything about ‘the farmer’ and I know his happiest and most
fulfilling times were during his tenure at the GMB,” said
Misihairabwi-Mushonga.

She described him as “a combination of the
past, present and the future of Zimbabwe”.

Gasela was among the
MDC heavyweights who disagreed with party leader Morgan Tsvangirai over
senate elections in 2005, resulting in the party splitting into two
factions.

Because of his principled nature, Tsvangirai found it fit
to push aside those differences and travelled all the way to Gweru to mourn
his former comrade.

Even senior officials from Zanu PF, including
the party’s provincial chairperson and Midlands governor Jason Machaya also
found time to go and comfort the Gasela family.

A statement from
MDC-T spokesperson Nelson Chamisa’s office said Gasela was consistent in his
fight for a positive change in Zimbabwe.

“The MDC family particularly
remembers Gasela as a committed and patriotic Zimbabwean who fought for many
years to bring real change to the people of this country,” said the
statement.

“He was a democrat, a patriot and a staunch defender of
human rights who wanted to see positive change in the country of his
birth.

“Since 1999, Gasela has always been on the vanguard,
responding to the clarion call to save his country from the vagaries of Zanu
PF misgovernance and corruption.”

Most of the issues Gasela
raised in his articles have not been addressed.

The agriculture
sector continues to be on a nosedive, but very few officials, including
those from the two MDCs, seem to treat agriculture revival with the same
urgency he advocated for.

Gasela’s death in a car crash alongside his
party’s chairperson of the disciplinary committee, Lyson Mlambo and
chairperson of the Women’s Assembly in the Midlands, Ntombizodwa Gumbo has
spurred public debate on a vast array of issues, among them the sorry state
of the country’s roads.

In his statement, Chamisa said the roads had
become “highways of death… rivers of blood and death
cages”.

“Innocent people have perished on our roads and on our
railways; far too many to warrant urgent action from the inclusive
government,” said Chamisa.

“The MDC calls on the inclusive government
to take these accidents as wake-up calls to deal decisively with the carnage
on our highways which has become a loud indictment on the state of the
national road network.”

Chamisa said roads now topped the list of
killers of innocent citizens and revealed that the MDC-T was now pushing for
a “special investigation into the toll-gate fees that continue to be
collected but with no improvement on the state of our
roads”.

Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Senegal and MDC secretary for policy
and research, Trudy Stevenson said “Gasela was one of the most decent,
principled fighters for democracy and for the betterment of our beloved
Zimbabwe and its people”.

Business
working on own corporate governance code

BUSINESS leaders from different sectors have teamed up to draft a
governance code in an attempt to bring to an end the continued failure of
various businesses as a result of "moral bankruptcy and unethical behaviour
of business leaders". This follows the economic crisis of the past decade
that has been attributed to poor corporate governance which resulted in
unlawful speculative investments, institutional collapses, parallel markets,
as well as shortages of local and foreign currency.Institute of
Directors of Zimbabwe (IoDZ) executive director, David Mutambara said they
would use the proposed national code on corporate governance to stamp out
"rampant corruption designed to cripple the economy and condition of the
Zimbabwean people".The code is being drafted jointly by the IoDZ and the
Zimbabwe Leadership Forum (Zimlef)."The code itself is not meant to
solve problems of the past, but it is meant to define the desired future,"
said Mutambara."It is focused on the future than addressing the past. One
important thing is to make sure that whatever we do resonates with the bread
and butter issues of the ordinary Zimbabwean."It has to relate to the
daily needs of the ordinary person."Among other things, the code will
recommend amendments to listing requirements on the Zimbabwe Stock
Exchange.Zimlef chairperson and prominent Harare lawyer Canaan Dube said the
code was also an attempt to restore investors' confidence and trust in
Zimbabwe."People need to know the advantages derived from good corporate
governance compliance and what bad corporate governance does to investment,
prospective investors and the economy at large."Security of investment
is of great concern to any investor," said Dube.Renowned business leader
Luxon Zembe said the code was now "work in progress" and would be completed
before the end of the year.He said the project had generated a lot of
interest in Zimbabwe and beyond the country's borders."This commitment
from Zimbabweans is very critical in unlocking the doors and the value we
can realise from this," said Zembe."By the end of this year Zimbabwe will be
having its own corporate governance code."It takes time and commitment,
but I believe as Zimbabweans we have what it takes to make the project
successful."There had initially been scepticism from some people who felt it
was more of a duplication of South Africa's King Report.The report,
initially drafted in 1994, has been pivotal in shaping the direction of
South African businesses.A number of the King Report principles have since
been adopted by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.But Mutambara said they
would not copy the King Report in drafting their own code. He said they
would only use it for background referencing.

Accra
to host joint business forum for Zimbabwe and Ghana

ZIMBABWE and Ghana will host a joint business forum in Accra later
this month where the two countries are set to strengthen their economic ties
especially in the private sector.The Zimbabwe-Ghana business forum
exhibition to be attended by businesspeople will provide a platform to
showcase opportunities provided by both countries.Ghana's ambassador to
Zimbabwe James Okeo Naadgi told a preparatory meeting recently that the
forum would give local businesses new ideas as the West African country had
one of the best models of micro-financing upcoming projects."There are a
number of things that the two countries could learn from each other so
businesses must take advantage of the competitive advantage that one country
has over the other." he said.His sentiments were echoed by Zimbabwe's
ambassador to Ghana Pavelyn Tendai Musaka who said there was need for local
financial institutions to learn from Ghana, which offers services that make
it easy for small businesspersons to access loans without
collateral."Ghanaians do not wait for government to make a move. What we
think are challenges, Ghana sees them as business opportunities" she
saidShe also urged Zimbabweans to take advantage of the newly-discovered oil
in Ghana when they explore new investments.The forum which is private
sector driven was started in 2006 with the first business exhibition held in
April 2007.

Government
to increase number of toll gates

BULAWAYO
- Motorists are set to cough up more on the country's roads as the
government intends to increase the number of toll gates. Government has been
collecting US$1,3 million in road usage fees every month since it set up the
22 toll gates on the major roads late last year.Patson Mbiriri, the
permanent secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Communications told a
business conference during the just-ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair
that government was not getting enough revenue from the toll gates."At
the moment, we are collecting around US$1,3 million a month from our 22
tolling points throughout the country," he said."We believe if we
increase these points, we are going to be able to get more funds to attend
to the pressing needs of our country and infrastructure."Mbiriri said the
revenue generated so far had been used to repair and maintain the country's
dilapidated roads.Motorists pay between US$1 and US$5 depending on the size
of the vehicle each time they pass through a toll gate."Our view as a
ministry is that these funds are not sufficient enough to cover our
needs."We need more funds. We have to specifically generate resources to
meet the challenges we face," he said.One of the big projects the
government wants to embark on is the dualisation of the Chirundu-Beitbrdge
road to cater for increased traffic in southern Africa.Zimbabwe's once
enviable road network has deteriorated to dangerous levels owing to years of
neglect.The number of people dying in road accidents continues to increase
owing to the battered road network.Mbiriri said the deterioration of the
road network was being quickened by the collapse of the country's rail
network that has seen most freight movers resorting to road
transport."Our rail lines are now older than roads in some parts of the
country," he said."We have over 100 plus points that are deemed deadly
on our lines and this shows there is need to upgrade our rail
system."This has resulted in slow movement of goods to a point where many
people now prefer to use the road to transport their goods."He said
government was concerned that some transporters were not respecting weight
restrictions on the roads leading to the destruction of the
network.

ZTA
hails A’Sambeni’s pulling power

THE
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) acting chief executive officer, Givemore
Chidzidzi has said the A’Sambeni travel expo held in Bulawayo recently has
given exhibitors the chance to see that the country’s tourism industry has
recovered. A’Sambeni is an annual travel expo held concurrently with the
Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.This year’s edition of the expo attracted
59 exhibitors from Britain and Italy. Last year there were 39 exhibitors,
Chidzidzi said.“We have shown them (exhibitors) the hospitality in Zimbabwe
and they are coming back in October for Sanganai/Hlanganani,” he
said.Sanganai/Hlanganani is Zimbabwe’s largest travel and tourism trade expo
held annually in October and has been slotted on the United Nations World
Tourism Organisation calendar.Chidzidzi said ZTA had embarked on hosting
programmes like A’Sambeni and Miss Tourism to spruce up the
country’simage.“We are having a perception management programme where we
bring in brave people from abroad to visit our country so that they send
back messages about Zimbabwe. We want people to think twice about Zimbabwe,”
Chidzidzi said.The tourism product is tired and requires attention but
operators do not have capital to fund major refurbishments.Local
operators are turning to regional financial institutions for long-term
funding which is not available locally.ZTA hopes that the hosting of the
Fifa World Cup in South Africa will send out favourable signals about
Zimbabwe’s tourism sector.“Southern Africa will benefit in the long term
from the publicity produced by 2010,” Chidzidzi said.“We, as the
government are thinking of the long-term challenges we will face in trying
to sustain good publicity before and after the World Cup.”Visiting
journalists said there were opportunities for investment in the tourism
industry.Cindy Lou Dale, a British writer and photojournalist said she saw
many opportunities for investment in Zimbabwe during the tour.“Zimbabwe
needs to reclaim the brains that have left for other countries,” she
said.“There is no need for capital investment from foreign countries. It’s
time Zimbabwe pushed bureaucracy aside and used the brains that they
have.”Dale called upon Zimbabweans abroad to engage in promoting Zimbabwean
tourism while acting as ambassadors for the country.Zimbabwe’s tourism
industry is recovering from a decade of a slow down due to the bad publicity
owing to an unstable political and economic environment.

Editor's
Desk: ZRP reform first before national healing

Zimbabweans are getting angry with the Zimbabwe Republic Police
(ZRP) and many think that the process of national healing, reconciliation
and integration will come to naught if the force is not reformed.

On
Saturday April 24 this emotional letter from a lady named Thembe Sachikonye
who had been ill-treated by the police dropped onto the editor's
desk."Yesterday I was 'arrested' while trying to overtake a public
demonstration in my car, being under the impression that the police were
directing traffic to go around the demonstrators. I was detained,
intimidated and harassed for three hours, and finally released with a charge
of 'dangerous parking' for which I paid a $10 fine."When a ZRP officer
says to you, 'Masungwa' (You're under arrest) is it the equivalent of 'I am
placing you under arrest for the crime of..You have the right to remain
silent. If you wish to give up this right.' etc. etc.? Somehow 'masungwa'
seems incomplete, not to mention oftentimes incomprehensible."Since
yesterday I have been thinking that I am sad; pondering the possibilities of
a mild case of post-traumatic stress disorder. Now I see that I am not sad,
but rather MAD. I am in a rage, and memories of similar rages have gathered
to keep the present one company."As a child my mother, my sister and I
cowered and quaked with fear while soldiers stormed our house, pointing guns
and inventing violations and transgressions we did not have the power to
comprehend, let alone commit. Like many other households in our town, ours
was reduced to a fragile social structure populated only by women and
children while the men were dispersed and disenfranchised. The ugly lessons
that Gukurahundi taught me have stayed with me for all of my life. They
became important tools in the construction of the story of us:"Lesson 1:
We don't need to have done anything wrong to get into trouble."Lesson 2:
Whoever is in charge determines our final destiny - and not we
ourselves"Lesson 3: Our life is fairly cheap. If we do not comply we may
die, and the worst thing is that our death will have no consequence. It will
change nothing. Mean nothing."Over the 30 years that Zanu PF has held
our country hostage, these lessons have been reiterated to new and different
sub-audiences - each taking their turn in the queue behind the people of
Matabeleland, forming a chain of voiceless victims - silenced by fear. In
the meantime we are playing at 'national healing, reconciliation and
integration', empowering people who couldn't possibly be serious about
cleansing our nation of its burdens of anger and indignation."I am tired
of being quietly outraged and afraid; of being sad and even of being mad. I
no longer want to allow another power over my life, my output and my
destiny. I know that I am not alone in this social and emotional space. I
join a myriad of disembodied voices in the darkness of our unending
political gloom. Voices ready to rally and respond: 'Here I am, send
me'."But the tragedy of Zimbabwe may be even greater than that of a nation
pointing weapons (guns, whips and destructive legislation) at its own
children. The tragedy we face is that there is no one out there calling. We
answer to a silent space: a leadership vacuum. This is akin to picking up a
telephone receiver and urgently declaring a series of hellos, to a line that
never rang."So where are the leaders, why aren't they calling?
Logically the MDC maybe expected to answer that question, and ideally they
would answer it with their own: 'Here we are - we'll send you'. But I wonder
whether it may not be too late for MDC. Perhaps we should rather pose that
question to someone else; to anyone else: Where are the leaders? Why aren't
they calling?"Our police force still has a modicum of respectability - it is
still being called upon by the United Nations to undertake peacekeeping
duties in hotspots around the globe. But there are many incidents back home
that overshadow the good work they might do; hence the call for
transformation.Describing the apartheid police on the eve of Nelson
Mandela's release from detention Janine Rauch, an independent consultant on
the transformation of the South African police, had this to say:"By the
early 1990s, (all) the police in South Africa had acquired a reputation for
brutality, corruption and ineptitude. Police organisations were militarised,
hierarchical, and ill-equipped to deal with 'ordinary
crime'."Street-level policing was conducted in a heavy-handed style,
with bias against black citizens and little respect for rights or due
process."Criminal investigations were largely reliant on confessions
extracted under duress, and harsh security legislation provided or tolerated
various forms of coercion and torture. "Their policing techniques were
outmoded, partly as a result of the campaign for international isolation of
the apartheid government. However, despite their lack of skill in dealing
with crime, the South African police were notoriously effective against
their political opponents."It never occurred to the leaders and members
of the African National Congress -- the main democratic opposition party -
that the police who had been so ruthlessly effective against them would be
any less effective against criminals in the new era. However, coping with
the political transition and adapting to policing in a democratic society
have been difficult for the police service."This disturbingly sou-nds
too close to home.According to Rauch the job of the police under apartheid
was to enforce laws of racial segregation, to secure the minority
government, and to protect the white population from crime and political
disruption. This did not require traditional policing skills, and instead
rewarded political loyalty and allowed large-scale abuses of powers. The new
(South African) government faced the mammoth task of transforming the police
service into one which would be both acceptable to the majority of the
population, and effective against crime.Similarly in Zimbabwe now it can
be said that the job of the police is to enforce laws that close democratic
space to secure the unpopular government of Zanu PF and to protect the party
from political challenge. And as in apartheid South Africa, this too does
not require traditional policing skills but rewards political
loyalty.One of the challenges our country faces is to transform the police
into a force guided by its own motto: Pro populo, pro lege, pro patria. We
need to take a leaf from the South African book and "make the police
legitimate and acceptable in the eyes of the majority of citizens", and for
them to make a "clean and definite break with the past".In
transformation of the apartheid force the new government identified a number
of other challenges:n curbing crime and improving levels of safety and
security;n improving police-community relations;n removing all forms of
discrimination within and by the police service;n adopting a new "mindset"
within the police forces;n restoring discipline and morale among police
personnel; andn establishing a culture of fundamental rights within the
police organisation.Our transitional inclusive government is in a
similar position to that which South Africa found itself in at the end of
apartheid and steps should be taken to learn from them in reforming this
most important agent of national governance.

Sundayview:
Zuma’s approach too lackadaisical

Those
who say that the mediator in the Zimbabwean Global Political Agreement (GPA)
talks and South African President’s commitment to the Zimbabwean problem is
meant to buy time for his country to be allowed to host the World Cup soccer
tournament could not be far from the truth considering events in Zimbabwe
today.

Jacob Zuma who is mandated by the Sadc to facilitate the
negotiations on a power-sharing agreement between long-time fierce political
rivals, Zanu PF and the two MDC formations, appears not to be keen on an
urgent resolution of his neighbour’s crisis. At least from the information
in the public domain, President Zuma has not put forward any proposals that
suggest urgency in the resolution of the perpetual crisis north of the
Limpopo. He has dragged his feet and with impunity his deadlines have been
ignored at best and at worst disregarded by the negotiating
parties.However, facilitators of crises of the Zimbabwean nature should know
that it is unacceptable in the politics of transition that a transitional
government can be allowed to remain bogged down on the implementation of key
reforms that define the actual transition for which the world was prepared
to sacrifice democratic principles.After Zimbabwe shamelessly proved to
the whole world that it was not capable of conducting democratic elections
that are free and fair, the country was allowed to form an inclusive
government that would see to it that internal capacity is built for a
self-sustained democracy.Even the Zimbabwean citizens who were cheated of an
opportunity to elect a leader of their choice were optimistic that in two
years, the political parties would work together to create conditions where
they would exercise this right without fear or prejudice. Suspicious of the
workability of the arrangement, maybe realistic that the modalities of
implementing the transitional government agreement would not be easy, Sadc
acted as guarantors opting for Zuma to be their point man on the basket’s
bad apple.Upon getting this nod, Zuma did not mince his words on his
commitment to supporting Zimbabwe on its way to recovery. Together, with the
current Sadc chairperson Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) president,
Joseph Kabila, president Zuma intervened promptly and decisively when the
MDC formation led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai “disengaged” from
government, threatening the life of the inclusive government. A crisis
meeting to discuss Zimbabwe was called.The Maputo Declaration, from this
crisis meeting held late last year, gave the parties an ultimatum to talk
out the sticking issues in a month. At that summit, Tsvangirai announced
re-engagement with his Zanu PF counterparts in government. Zimbabweans were
not to get a Christmas present as the widely expected finality to the talks
did not materialise.For over four months Zuma spoke through the media and
did nothing else to end the perpetual talks, which had long since gone
beyond the deadline. By this he proved to the whole world that he actually
did not bite contrary to the posturing before election to his country’s
presidency. Instead of flexing his muscle to those stalling progress, he
went across the world doing public relations on behalf of his disgraced
neighbour. In fact, he gave them the impression that all was well and he
was firmly in control.Zuma would continue giving this impression even when
he told journalists that he had managed to get feuding political parties in
Zimbabwe to agree on a “package of measures” on his last visit to the
country last month. Needless to say, he gave the political parties a fresh
deadline to keep on negotiating, even though there were some parties to the
negotiations, who were not aware that they had agreed to anything. Zanu PF
did not take long to contradict him on this position saying they had not
made any concessions as widely reported in the private media.Several
weeks after the lapsing of this deadline, Zimbabweans are still waiting to
unwrap the gift of the said “package of measures”.As these events unfold,
one major question sticks out: Is the South African president concerned with
addressing the Zimbabwean question, or at least, to do it with urgency? I
say with urgency because some may say but he is seen to be doing
something.My opinion is that President Zuma has little clue, if any, on how
to tackle the Zimbabwean challenge. I agree with those that say he is
worried about not having his neighbour’s childish brawl eclipse his
country’s historic holding of the world soccer extravaganza.What
meaningful progress really does Zuma expect the parties to make when it is
clear to everyone, including the esteemed facilitator, that we have reached
a point where each party regards concessions to the other’s demands as
compromising their position for being the next government?

Sundayopinion:
ZEC: the devil is in the detail

The
long-awaited Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) was finally sworn in at
State House apparently a few hours before April Fools' Day on March 31
2010.

Will this body deliver free, fair, transparent and credible
elections as per its constitutional mandate under section 100c? There are
three glaring impediments:First, the precursor to the swearing in of ZEC
was a statutory instrument published in the Government Gazette on March 5
that allocated the administration of the Zimbabwe Electoral Act and Zimbabwe
Commission Act to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
Patrick Chinamasa.The minister will have powers to veto any regulations ZEC
might make for the conduct of elections like airtime for contesting
political parties on state-owned television and radio. It is Chinamasa, a
Zanu PF chief negotiator, who will also have powers to approve any funding
for the electoral body.The minister lost an election and he owes his
appointment to President Robert Mugabe; therefore his loyalty lies with the
president first and foremost. Given his loyalty to Mugabe who has already
declared his candidature for the next election it is a possibility that the
appointed minister will scuttle any attempts to fund the body in order to
incapacitate its functions and will frustrate progressive
regulations.Second, President Mugabe's role in the electoral body leaves a
lot to be desired. How can the popular Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai
exercise leverage on the supposed consultation spelt out in the Global
Political Agreement (GPA) when for now the results do not mirror any
consultations?The chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Justice
Simpson Mtambanengwe, seems to have been solely appointed by President
Mugabe who is also a player in this game. What brings little joy is that
Justice Mtambanengwe has a long relationship with President Mugabe that
traces back to the liberation struggle long before Zimbabwe was born.
Moreover, it is not the first time that the ZEC chair has been appointed by
Mugabe; for the record he was once appointed as a High Court judge, usually
a reward for loyalty. To worsen this situation, President Mugabe appears to
have bulldozed his appointment of the deputy chairperson of ZEC, Joyce
Kazembe, who is on the European Union targeted sanctions
list.Consequently, Kazembe is prevented from entering any European country
because of a visa ban; her assets in Europe are frozen all because of her
consistent support for the regime of President Mugabe as evident in the June
27 disputed election. It is a possibility she has an axe to grind with the
MDC.Third, voters' registration is still in the hands of Tobaiwa Mudede
who is also on the European Union, Australian and American targeted
sanctions lists because of his alleged track record of rigging the 2000,
2002 and 2005 national elections in favour of President Mugabe at the
expense of the people's choice. The Registrar General is also an appointee
of President Mugabe. Although the Registrar-General under Section 18 of the
Electoral Act will have to take directions from ZEC there is no clear
mechanism on the implementation. Moreover, ZEC cannot initiate a new
registration of voters or order a new voters' roll as the Electoral Act is
silent on this. Yet the issue of ghost voters continue to haunt Zimbabwe's
electoral laws. As a tip of the iceberg the Sokwanele voters' role audit
unearthed names of 74 021 voters aged above 100 years on the voters' roll
used in the March 2008 harmonised local, parliamentary and presidential
elections. There were also 82 456 people registered aged between 90 and 100
years of age. It is common knowledge that Zimbabwe's demographics have
changed and there is more than meets the eye.However, the positive thing
is that in the latest round of perpetual negotiations Zanu PF and MDC have
agreed to revisit the Electoral Act. I hope that the detail will be attended
to in the amendment of the Electoral Act otherwise ZEC remains old wine in a
new bottle. Whatever Zanu PF decides to implement Zimbabweans should be
conscious of the details where the devil resides.

Comment:
Consultation lacking in GNU

IN 19th
Century Europe nationalist upheavals saw the emergence of middle-class
governments accountable to parliament rather than to the monarchs of an
earlier era.

But despite these democratic reforms, it was always remarked
that foreign policy remained "the domain of the king".We have echoes of
this in Zimbabwe where President Mugabe exercises absolute authority over
foreign affairs. Despite swearing in a government of national unity, Mugabe
declines to consult his partners in government who are expected to uphold
decisions to which they were not a party.We saw the problems that arise from
unilateral policy-making recently with the visit of President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad of Iran.For the majority of Zimbabweans Ahmadinejad was not a
welcome guest. He ruthlessly crushed protests on the streets of Tehran last
June when his opponents claimed his election had been rigged. He has said
that the Holocaust, which saw the slaughter of six million Jews, did not
happen and threatened to obliterate Israel. Moreover, his regime's
flirtation with nuclear power has led to growing concern in the UN Security
Council.In short, Ahmadinejad is not the sort of person we should be
welcoming here. He is an oppressor in his own country and a poor example to
his neighbours. He is in fact capable of destabilising the whole Middle
East.The claims in the state press that he and Mugabe represent some sort of
progressive movement is plain nonsense. Both resist change. Both threaten
their respective regions.While Mugabe is not obliged to consult the MDC
on all issues, this is one example of where consultation would have made
sense. The MDC claims to stand for democratic governance. It could not in
the circumstances condone a visit from a ruler widely seen by the
international community as a bigot and outcast.A country is defined by
its friends, the MDC rightly said in a statement, and it is little surprise
other countries have reacted with disgust to the clumsy diplomacy of
Zimbabwe's rulers. Zimbabwe desperately needs international approval if it
is to recover from its self-inflicted wounds. Instead it compounds its
reputation as an outpost of tyranny by hobnobbing with the likes of
Ahmadinejad.This pattern of delinquency can be detected over the past two
decades. The visit of Nicolae Ceausescu in 1983 was the starting point. He
was given the freedom of the city of Harare and a couple of heifers from
what was then the flourishing Kintyre estate.In the period before 1990
Zimbabwe's arthritic foreign policy was underpinned by the eastern bloc. But
with the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the winds of change blowing
across Africa, Zimbabwe's Marxist-Leninist support system began to
disintegrate. Mugabe found it increasingly difficult to strut upon the world
stage. Even offers to address the AU began to dry up. And at the UN it was
Hugo Chavez who spoke for the developing world, not Mugabe.His
pretensions to be the authentic voice of African nationalism were overtaken
in the 1990s by South Africa's commitment to inclusive and constitutional
governance.Zimbabwe was obliged to cultivate insignificant island states
such as Equatorial Guinea in the hope of securing oil. Nelson Mandela's
stance on the Congo intervention in 1998 infuriated Mugabe and led to a rift
in Sadc.Sadc has since 2007 been involved in negotiations aimed at national
reconciliation in Zimbabwe. Sadc leaders intervened after being appalled by
evidence of assaults on MDC leaders. That "facilitation" is on-going.It
would be logical in the circumstances, if they want international respect,
for all three parties in the GNU to consult on foreign policy issues so the
country speaks with one voice and greets visitors with one embrace. If we
are to invite the EU to take the GNU seriously, as we expect from Elton
Mangoma's forthcoming mission to Brussels, we will need to engage in mature
diplomacy among ourselves.The reaction by some officials to our ambassador's
Independence Day speech in Canberra on April 18 suggests there are still
people living in the past.If we are to have a democratic Zimbabwe we need to
have new thinking at the top.That should be put in place before there is
any further embarrassment.